Red Blood
by Scottea
Summary: A moment in time when hope becomes logic and logic becomes hope, when Spock and McCoy possibly get a better understanding of one another.


Decided to put this as a separate story that put it in Hidden Sayings as I decided to add to the original story and think I will do that with the remaining stories in that series.

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Captain Kirk, Spock, Doctor McCoy, and one security officer from the Enterprise ensured the safe arrival of the Federation representative to Elden Five, the newest member to the Federation. They had been accompanied by the representative and three security officers from Command.

The meet and greet after function was well into its second hour when Kirk decided that they were no longer needed and, after letting the representative know they were leaving, the four headed across the raised walkway from the reception room, pausing briefly to look at the gardens below. While Spock had been fascinated by two of the more exotic plants growing in the strange rocky environment the others had walked a few paces on. There had been an awareness of a movement, of something, no, somebody rushing along the walkway that had made Spock turn and watch almost transfixed as one of the security guards who had traveled with them and who was to remain on Elden Five ran by him banishing a long knife and heard him yell out "Kirk!"

Before he could react the man had lashed out with the knife. He heard McCoy yell out, "No! Jim!" as two figures fell from the walkway.

The two other guards rushed and grabbed the man who was no longer holding the knife but now stood looking relaxed and satisfied saying, "Nobody leaves me here. he can't leave me here now. Nobody deserts me. **Nobody**."

Spock saw how McCoy stood unmoving just looking over the railing. He had not allowed himself to look over the side even as he walked to where McCoy was. Only when he got to McCoy's side did he look over. Blood. So much red blood. A growing pool of red around two entangled forms below. Two forms that were soon obscured by people crowded around them. Obscured but I his mind he still saw all the blood. All the red blood.

What McCoy was saying slowly got through the dullness that had seemed to claim his mind since seeing the two bodies and all that blood. He felt McCoy's fingers dig into his upper arms, "Spock, I, we have to go to their medical center now. Do you hear me? We have to go there to be there for them."

Some portion of his mind had done the calculations of the approximate weight of the man with the knife, the size of the blade of the knife, the speed he was running at, the combined weights of Jim Kirk and the security officer, the distance to the floor below, and the likely speed they were g ,oing when they hit the concrete. As he allowed McCoy to practically lead him to the medical complex he knew that there would be severe damage to both of them. There had been all that blood.

At the medical center McCoy had released the hold he had had on Spock's arm and walked into the room a nurse indicated. Above the bed that James Kirk was on was a display that made McCoy close his eyes for a moment and let out a breath he had not been aware he had been holding. He suddenly felt more relaxed. Somehow Jim only had a broken bone in his left ankle, two cracked ribs, and a broken bone in his left wrist. There would be several bruises and sore muscles but all other scans and readouts were very promising. There was every indication of a very slight concussion as is usual when a human is knocked unconscious but other than that his brain scan was normal.

He was taken into the other room where the security officer was in a standard regen bed and McCoy was relieved to see he was alive although his injuries were far more extensive as attested by the scans. "It is clear, as the first responders stated, that Officer Davis deliberately had Captain Kirk land on him. That knife badly cut deep into and down his right leg from just below the pelvis to the back of his knee and somehow got between them in the fall to cut into his thigh again in the front. Substantial blood loss and severe tissue damage to the leg and, from the way he clearly intended that they landed with Kirk on top of him and on his side, he has some internal organ bruising and eight cracked ribs, cracked pelvis, the three bones in the left arm are each broken in several places as are the three main bones in his left leg. He will take much longer than Captain Kirk to recover and may take up to twenty weeks to recover enough to be able to do moderate duties but I would expect him to be able to be retested for full security duties within the year."

As calmly as he could so his relief was not too apparent McCoy asked for them to make arrangements to get both Kirk and the officer back to the ship after he had brought Spock to see Kirk and to tell the ship that he and First Officer Spock would be along shortly.

While McCoy had been gone Spock just stood where McCoy had left him. A part of his mind registered what was going on around him but he felt numb, dead, and totally unwilling to move. He had failed his Captain and his best friend. He had seen the man with the knife at a time he could. No. He should have stopped him. He had done nothing, nothing but stand and watch. He had seen Kirk go over the railing, seen him fall, and saw how he had landed. All that blood. Red blood. All the red he had seen looking down.

A firm hand gripped his arm, he saw the blue eyes look at him with so much compassion that he allowed McCoy to lead him into a small room and shut the door. Twice he opened his mouth, twice he started to but he could not ask what he wanted to know, what he had to know. He could not say the name that was so precious to him. He could not even say the rank he often used.

McCoy put his other hand on Spock's other arm and looked at his friend. He did not want to think what his friend might be thinking remembering what they saw from the raised walkway. Over the years he had known the Vulcan he had seen him face so many things, had seen him in so many states, but nothing like this. There was both fear and horror on that usually inscrutable face with the look of somebody not only lost but also trapped by something they could not accept as real.

"Spock, Spock I will take you to Jim. Okay? I will take you to Jim." Blue eyes looked at him and Spock tried to understand what the man meant. Surely he had also seen what he had. Surely he knew that there would have been too much damage.

"Spock, I will take you to see Jim. You can see him and touch him. I will take you to him." There was a gentle tug on his arms and for a moment he stood still, he was not ready to see Jim's body. He was aware of the stillness in his mind after he had heard how Jim had screamed out to him as he fell. Could McCoy not understand?

"Doctor, I cannot. Not yet. Please understand."

McCoy stopped and looked at the First Officer. That voice had not been one he was at all familiar with but he knew what it reflected. From what he had seen he realized what his friend was most likely thinking. So many times he had had conversations with Kirk about such a situation and how he should deal with it. He heard again Kirk saying, "Just be there with him, Bones. Just be there for him and with him. You will know what to do at the time. You will know how best to help him. He will need you to be ready to understand his differences and his difficulty in understanding those Human emotions he does have."

He looked at Spock for a few seconds longer and realized that it was a time to remind his friend of his duty, he had seen how often it was the knowing his duty that had helped his Vulcan friend function. "First Officer Spock, we will go and see the Captain and then return to the ship where you will be in temporary command."

There was something in the way the doctor had spoken that made Spock look at him. In the blue eyes was pain yet understanding with some uncertainty, concern yet confidence, the friend yet the fellow officer. He started to shake his head but felt the hands on his arms tighten again, "I will be with you, Spock. I will take you to see him and I will be with you if you want. He is not far away. Nobody will see you like this. I will take you. Trust me."

Whatever seeing what had happened to Jim Kirk had done to the Vulcan McCoy knew had shocked him, maybe too far for him to reach. As he looked at his friend he knew he would have to honor their friendship and help him get to see Kirk. He knew that once Spock saw Kirk that powerful and fantastic Vulcan mind would once again find balance. He softened his voice slightly, "Nobody else will be there, Spock. It will just be the three of us. Just the three of us."

"Just the tree of us." confirmed to Spock what he feared. They would not have left Jim alone otherwise. All that he had seen had shown him the truth. All that red blood. Those blue eyes were still looking at me and he wondered if McCoy had not seen all that blood. He studied the man for a moment looking for any sign of the pain he was feeling and saw such concern for him that he nodded. Jim would expect him to be of some support to McCoy. If it would help the doctor he would allow him to take him to where Jim and been left. He still did not speak but nodded and let McCoy hold onto his arm and lead him.

As he lead the silent Vulcan along the cleared corridor McCoy was sure he could feel building tension, or perhaps trepidation, in his friend. He tried to think of any other time when he had been with Spock when they were going to see Jim when there had been so much dread and fear almost radiating from the Vulcan. It was only as they neared the door that McCoy thought that maybe Spock had seen what he had seen only differently. Had all that red and the pooling blood seemed like all blood to him? He most likely would have been looking only at Kirk and there had been all the blood and red. McCoy stopped short of the door and looked at Spock unsure if this was not the time to talk. Talking, letting Spock know how Jim was, seemed right but Spock was clearly not in a state to hear what was said and he was sure that the powerful Vulcan mind was somehow trapped by what he had seen. How did he say what he had to say when clearly Spock was not in a state to listen and fully comprehend? What could he do to help free him from wherever that powerful mind held him?

Still not certain what else to do McCoy reached for the door but long fingers gripped his hand.

"No!" There was not only total Vulcan command but also fear in the world and McCoy almost recoiled but just remained calm knowing somewhere was the being he trusted with his life. "I, I will go in alone, Doctor McCoy." It still was not the voice he knew and just about everything in McCoy wanted to protest, to scream not to let him go in alone and yet he took a step back, nodded, and understood. He would let Spock go in alone and would count to ten then walk in. One, two, three, four.

Spock walked into the room and stood by the door for a moment as he adjusted to the oddly dimly lit room and steadied his breathing. It was not what he had expected and he was slightly perplexed. Why would they have Jim in a room like this? This was more like a recovery room than a, **No!** The Vulcan First Officer stopped himself. Hope was illogical and against the dictates of logic. There was a legitimate reason they would have put him on that bed. To even think that showed he was not thinking logically, that he was not in full control of himself.

Eight, nine, ten. McCoy walked in and had expected to find Spock by the bed not so close to the door nor looking so confused. Carefully he reached out and again gripped Spock's upper arm, "Come on, Spock. You know how little we still know what a person in a deep sleep is and is not aware of,"

"Deep, deep, a deep sleep?" It was clear what McCoy had feared he believed was, in fact, what his friend, Spock had believed. McCoy cursed himself for not telling him sooner, that he really had not realized sooner that Spock had believed Jim was dead. "No. I, I." For a just a moment the Vulcan closed his eyes and took a deeo breath then looked at him, and in the eyes McCoy saw a confused certainty, "Doctor McCoy, I saw the knife, saw them fall, saw the blood."

Slowly McCoy eased Spock over to the bed, "Spock, close your eyes for a moment. I'll be right here but I want you to close your eyes for a moment." when the Vulcan had closed is eyes McCoy had placed one of Spock's hands on Jim's so that the long fingers were resting on the wrist. He waited a moment, watching in silence as his friend's face his eyes as he moved his hand from Jim's wrist to his hand and held it, he had felt, from where McCoy had placed his hand on Jim's wrist, the strong and steady heartbeat. "Doctor, how? I, I saw."

"I know, Spock. We both saw the knife and them fall and how they landed. You also saw the blood and I think that clouded your thinking, your judgement of what you were seeing, just as it did mine for some time."

Only slightly and briefly did Spock move his head so he could see the blue eyes watching him, "Doctor, I know what I saw. I know what it should have represented in the way of injury. I knew there was no hope. I will admit I am at a loss to understand how this can be."

"Okay, now I will admit when I first looked down I thought I was looking at two dead men with all what appeared to be blood around them and how they had landed. And, like you, I did not take too close a look but I do know that a part of me that I would not believe knew all the red I saw was not blood."

Only then did Spock look away from Kirk and at McCoy, "Not blood?"

"Oh, there was blood. The knife attack had sliced Officer Barry Davis's right leg from hip to knee slicing, among other things, the deep femoral vein, and as they fell the knife fell with them and bedded itself into his femoral artery which accounts for the blood we saw."

Spock looked from McCoy to Kirk and back to McCoy shaking his head slowly, "No, Doctor. There was,"

"Blast it, Spock, listen to me. The doctor confirmed that Officer Barry Davis somehow managed to turn while they fell so Jim landed mainly on him. The blood we saw was blood but remember that security officers wear red shirts. The way they were sprawled we saw the blood and the red shirt." Spock saw McCoy nod, "Yes, Spock, I was shocked when I realized that my mind only thought blood and not of Davis's uniform."

As McCoy watched he saw his friend close his eyes and slow his breathing then open his eyes and look at him. It took at he had not to hug his friend to him as it was obvious that the green-blooded hobgoblin was on the way back, "How is Officer Davis?"

"The doctors said that he should be back to full duties within a year, twenty weeks till he can be on moderate duties."

There it was, in the way Spock slowly nodded, "I shall talk with Mister Scott to ensure that he ensures that Davis does not over-exert himself. With your assistance we can design a rehabilitation and fitness plan that will not only be of benefit to him but also ensure he is returned to the Enterprise."

Damn. McCoy swore at himself. He had not thought of how Command could, upon hearing of the extent of Davis's injuries, remove him from the ship unless there was a medical reason to keep him on the ship. By him verifying that there was a rehabilitation and fitness plan in place and that reports would be regularly sent to Command so they could monitor how the treatment went and advise other doctors of what had worked under different conditions. That was something he knew all doctors did but even more so on starships as ships like the Enterprise were usually far away from more help than what was aboard the ship and many times adaptation or modification of what was on hand was needed .

"Once we're back on the ship I will meet with you and Scotty and work out what will be best for him as I'll have evaluated him in my own Sickbay." he was relieved to see the nod of understanding from Spock as not only did it show he had an ally but also that his friend was back. "If we leave now they will transport both Jim and Officer Davis back to the ship. Now I do not know about you but I sure would like to be there to welcome them home."

"Yes, that would be preferable to remaining here when they are transported."

When they beamed the Enterprise McCoy was relieved that Spock was fully back to his normal self as he walked over to the controls, " Mister Scott, please arrange for a medical crew to get here to carry the Captain and Officer Davis to Sickbay. Doctor McCoy, please ensure your Sickbay is fully prepared for the arrival of both the Captain and Officer Davis."

"Aye, right away, Mister Spock." The Chief Engineer could tell something was wrong when only Dr McCoy and Spock beamed aboard.

"I'll go get ready for them, Spock. The Captain will still be sleeping and Officer Davis will have been medicated to the transport."

For a moment Spock was going to say he had not asked for such information but realized, as McCoy left the room, that McCoy had said so much mainly for Mister Scott's benefit. Once Jim was safely under McCoy care in Sickbay he would have time to meditate as he was acutely aware his control was not at its best, something had clearly caused a major disruption.

The medical teams arrived just as Kirk and Officer Davis were beamed aboard and were quickly taken to Sickbay and McCoy's realm. Spock had followed the medical teams to Sickbay after telling Sulu to remain in the chair till he was on the bridge. It did not surprise him to see the good doctor take such total control of making sure that both Kirk and Davis were given the care they deserved and were quickly resting as McCoy wanted. There was clear relief in the blue eyes when the doctor finally looked at him. After knowing the man for so many years he understood the nod of the head meant that all was well and the second nod meant to go to is office.

In the small room McCoy had as an office Spock stood as McCoy walked in and looked at him then poured a drink from one bottle and another drink from a second bottle, handing Spock the first drink as it was a special Vulcan drink he enjoyed. "To surviving another attempt to break up the trio, Spock."

It was a logical toast and Spock had to admit it was good to share a drink with a friend such as McCoy. After they had drained their glasses McCoy looked at Spock for a moment in silence and the Vulcan was aware that the doctor was studying him.

"Okay, Spock, let's have it."

"Have what, exactly, Doctor?"

"Oh, come on, Spock. This is me you're talking to. I can tell something is not right with you. Something hasn't been right since we looked down and saw what we did."

Spock sighed and looked at McCoy, "I find that I am experiencing some difficult with some aspects of what happened."

"Anything in particular? You know we have both seen Jim hurt before and other officers as injured as Davis."

"I am aware of that, Doctor. I just have never experienced the amount of fear and then confusion that I did. When I looked down at them everything I know told me they were dead and when I saw the blood, what I believed to be blood, I knew they were dead. I regret that you were given the mantle of caring for me as you did as, for some reason, I could not accept what I saw. I could not accept it yet logic dictated that I accept it. I was still trying to accept it when I first saw Jim in that room. A part of me had ignored the logic I had always relied on and I dared to hope I was wrong. When I realized it was not an autopsy table I, I," Spock bowed his head not sure how to continue and hoping McCoy would, as usual, understand.

Carefully McCoy reached out and place a hand on Spock's shoulder, "It is okay, Spock. I envy you for at least having had the moment of hope. Until I saw them both I was sure they were dead."

Dark eyes looked up at him and McCoy saw surprise and sympathy and nodded, "I was also sure that when I went into the room the doctor would tell me they were dead. You at least clung to hope while," despite how he felt McCoy smiled then shook his head, "I'll be damned, Spock. You had my hope and I had your blasted logic."

For eighty-three point one six seconds Spock was aware he and McCoy looked at each other as they realized that in those few hours they had experienced how the other lived. While McCoy had been logical and not given to believing in hope he had embraced hope and discarded logic. Neither of them had been themselves and for the same reason. As he looked at McCoy he also saw a tiredness he was aware of in himself.

"If I may, Doctor, I would suggest we both get some rest as you know Jim will want a full report when he awakens. I am certain that your officers are quite capable of caring for both of them while you get some rest and I will go to the bridge and then,"

"Oh no, Spock." McCoy reached out and pressed the com button, "Sickbay to Bridge."

"Sulu here, Doctor McCoy."

"The Captain and Officer Davis are sleeping. Mister Spock and I are just about to go and get," he glanced at Spock who held up fur fingers, "four standard hours of sleep during which time you will have the Conn. There are no matters of immediate concern are there?"

"No, no immediate matters of concern. Thank you for letting us know about the Captain and Officer Davis. The officer who attacked the Captain will receive treatment on the planet for his mental condition, they are calling it a breakdown and will send you a full report."

Spock nodded at hearing that remembering what the officer had said as he attacked Kirk and how he had sounded and saw how McCoy nodded as well.

"Thank you for relaying that, Sulu. McCoy, out." McCoy turned from the unit and looked at Spock, "I believe you and I are to go and get four hours of sleep."

Words of protest started to form in Spock's mind but as he looked at his friend he knew he was right. While McCoy needed the sleep he knew that he needed time to meditate and only two point four one hours of sleep. He nodded, "As you ensured the bridge crew were aware that you and I will be resting for the next four hours I shall ensure that you do get to your quarters and are not tempted to remain on watch here."

As they arrived at the door to McCoy's quarters he looked at Spock, "Guess we are back to how we are best, Spock. Don't know about you but I am glad to have you back to your logical self."

An eyebrow arched and McCoy saw a flash of a smile cross his friend's face and light up his eyes, "And it is with great relief that you have returned to yourself as well, Doctor." McCoy stepped into his quarters and saw Spock nod, "The lack of your usual human over emotionalism was most unsettling. Sleep well, Doctor."

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This was based on the saying that "Hope is contradictory to the application of logic".


End file.
